hankyoreh

” an accessory company

Qingdao, China--On the afternoon of April 23, all kinds of metals shine in a store located in the northern Chinese port city of Qingdao. The store “Semi,” owned by 49 year old Park Gwi-yong, is known as the “First Shop owned by a South Korean” on the Qingdao street which bustles with stores selling raw materials for accessories. Although the sun is close to setting, telephone calls continue to ring at Park’s store and employees are busy handling clients.

Park has hung in through the global economic slump by offsetting a decline in exports of finished accessories with sales of semi-finished goods in China‘s market. “Without this store, I might have been forced to pack up my bags and left a long time ago,” Park said. He posted as much as 200,000 yuan (40 million won) a month in sales from the store, allowing his plant to stay afloat. In just two years of opening the store, Park has a roster of 200 clients.

About 90 percent of Semi’s clients are Chinese manufacturers or distributors from Beijing and Shanghai. The rest include clients from places like Japan. He said he was surprised at first because clients flocked to his store, whereas he had to search for them when he operated a plant. These days, a popular item is a semi-finished necklace. As the success story of Semi circulated, some 60 stores owned by Koreans have recently opened on the street.

Some　South Korean small- and mid-sized firms in Qingdao, once on the brink of collapse as exports of garments and accessories fell, are beginning to harvest the fruit of hope in China‘s domestic market. Since 2007, a significant number of the firms exploring China’s market have gone bankrupt and some of them were forced to leave under the cover of night. A sense of relief thrives here now.

Another eye-catching success in Qingdao includes “Cheonggang,” a meal-service company that made inroads into the market in October of last year. Armed with solid sanitary management and affordable prices, the company has created a “Korean wave.” It signed contracts with 19 local firms in less than six months after the launch. Recently, Cheonggang signed a contract with a Swedish firm and also provides lunch to a local police unit that investigates tainted food.

The success of Cheonggang is cited as a mystery among foreign firms who will not dare to enter the meal-service business here due to foreseen difficulties in gaining approval by the Chinese health authorities. Sohn, president of Cheonggang, had to embrace a barrage of discouragement when he first began the business, but held onto the belief that he could succeed if he met the bar set by Chinese businesses. After his business in Qingdao stabilizes, Sohn is dreaming of expanding his business to neighboring industrial cities such as Yantai and Weihai.

The hope for success of South Korean small- and mid-sized firms at Qingdao comes at a price of painful restructuring efforts. Those who failed to endure the ordeal have closed their plants and left. Those who survived have put their resources into saving costs and developing technology as they continue to seek an oasis in China‘s market.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]